Movie Review:
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Rated by 9 members
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for adventure action and violence.
Recommended for ages 12 and up
Run Time: 113 minutes
Quick Take: Older kids might ask, "Um, where's the mummy?" but they won't suffer any shortage of action and adventure.
Martial Arts Action and Artifact Adventure Thrills, Even If the Mummy Has Gone Missing
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor raises a philosophical question: Is a movie without an actual mummy really a Mummy movie?
And the answer is ... depends on your definition of mummy.
This particular undead bad guy isn't your average Boris Karloff -- no pyramid, scarabs, deteriorating wrap job, no Egypt.
Ah, but really, a "mummy" is just any old dead body … with skin, say those smart guys at PBS. And, Chinese Emperor Han does have a curse on him, and an elaborate tomb. Most importantly, he comes back from the dead, which -- let's face it, is pretty much the prerequisite (dead ... not so dead) for becoming a bona fide Mummy villain.
The third Mummy flick does have the bones of the franchise --- 2,000-year-old villain with evil plan, curses, fire-breathers, Yeti. Most importantly, there's boyishly goofy Brendan Fraser, to whom the franchise really belongs. Fraser's Rick O'Connell is pining for the good old days of missed-it-by-this-much impalement, almost-beheading, and near-death by burial. He unwittingly helps revive the Emperor during a visit to China. Requisite battles ensue.
It's all a good ride, even if kids ask, "Where's the mummy?" An emperor encased in rock (the remarkable Jet Li, no less) is a great villain -- he's just not the mummy they know and love. (I wondered if the film's incessant generic reference to Han as "the Mummy" -- as in, "Is the mummy coming?" "Are you going to awaken the mummy?" -- was an attempt to connect to the franchise? Hmm.) On the upside, you get some stellar martial arts action. And, Fraser continues to toss off villains and one-liners in what amounts to a Saturday matinee with special effects. Silly? Well, yeah. But it's about a dead guy who comes back to life. And, it's fun -- maybe not as much fun as the first two -- but old-fashioned escapist entertainment to go along with your popcorn.
And, really, that's the definition of a Mummy flick. Brendan Fraser, undead guy, adventure…
Mummy movie, indeed.
Kids Will Like:
Kids who like this sort of thing will be wowed by the adventure. There's a lot of beheading and all, but much of it is on the tamer side of such serials. And Brendan Fraser -- how can they not love him? Evelyn's brother Jonathan provides much of the comic relief, and count on kids to guffaw loudly when he gets "yakked" on -- thrown up on by a Yak -- and when Rick (Fraser) ices his nether-parts after a run-in with a horse. Newly undead good guys get decidedly less scary when CG skeletons begin inadvertently dismembering each other.
Parents Will Like:
As adventure movies go, this one's pretty easy to take. To be sure, there's a lot of violence; but it's pretty reigned in and often cartoonish. Fans of the series will like the cute little touches -- such as Jonathan's bar called Imhotep's. Some will love the addition of stellar actress Maria Bello, while others will miss Rachel Weitz. Overall, it's a great adventure to enjoy with older kids.
